Did God Allow Noah To Eat Meat?

The passage of Genesis 9:2-4 was the subject of great debate and controversy. After years of study and research and virtually leaving no stone unturned on the subject, to date I have not read a commentary on the passage which is worthy of a serious consideration. Generally it is argued that here we have the first biblical passage where God explicitly told Noah that he may kill any animal he wanted to in order to eat its flesh. Even vegetarians who abhor meat eating and who practice vegetarianism on ethical grounds admit that here we are faced with a biblical text which clearly sanctions the killing of animals and eating of their flesh. All they can say is that due to the fallen and corrupt nature of humanity God gave a “concession” concerning meat diet but it was not His ideal as in Genesis 1:30 where God ideally prescribed a completely vegetarian diet. But nothing can be further from the truth.

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Did Jesus Eat Fish?

There is only one passage in the whole of the New Testament where it is explicitly and specifically said that Jesus actually ate meat. If this text is true and genuine and in fact inspired by the Holy Spirit, then it would follow that Jesus was not and could not have been a vegetarian. But if on the other hand it can be satisfactorily demonstrated that this passage in Luke 24 is actually a forgery, then it follows that Jesus must have been a vegetarian, since a lying hand felt a need to insert a lying passage in order to portray Jesus as a carnivorous being.

Teraphim or the household Gods could be seen in almost every home of a Jew or an Israelite throughout their recorded history. Laban is the first person mentioned in the Bible who possessed teraphim. These figurines of the Gods were actually stolen by Rachel. In 2 Kings 23:24 we read that Josiah removed all the teraphim he could find in Judah and Jerusalem:

“Moreover, Josiah removed…the TERAPHIM and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem.”

This text indisputably proves that the Jews possessed “teraphim” or the household Gods in their homes. Not only the Baal worshippers but also those who knew Yahweh and served Yahweh also had “teraphim” in their homes. Laban and his father Bethuel knew Yahweh and obviously held Him in a high esteem. When the servant of Abraham arrived in Padan Aram in order to find a wife for Isaac, Laban met him at the spring. He greeted him and said: “Come in, blessed of YAHWEH [Genesis 24:31].” Laban spoke in the name of Yahweh before the servant ever mentioned it. When the servant told Laban and Bethuel of his mission they replied: “This is from YAHWEH; it is not in our power to say yes or no to you. Rebekah is there before you. Take her and go; and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as YAHWEH has decreed [Genesis 24:50-51].” When Laban made a covenant with Jacob he spoke in the name of Yahweh saying: “May YAHWEH watch between you and me” [Genesis 31:49]. Laban and his father Bethuel knew Yahweh and they worshipped Him. But at the same time Laban possessed “teraphim.”

Jacob was not aware of this [Genesis 31:31]. When Laban eventually caught up with Jacob he asked him why did he steal his Gods. Genesis 31:30 says:

“Very well, you had to leave because you were longing for your father’s house; but why did you steal MY GODS?”

These Gods were “teraphim” and they could be found not only in the houses of the pagans but also of those who knew and served Yahweh. There was a man called Micah who lived in the territory of Ephraim. Both he and his mother were zealous worshippers of Yahweh. But at the same time they had “teraphim” and “ephod” in their home which was at the same time a shrine also. In Judges 17:1-13 we read:

“There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He told his mother, when someone stole those eleven hundred pieces of silver from you, you put a curse on that robber. I heard you do it. Look, I have the money. I am the one who took it. His mother said, May YAHWEH bless you, my son! He gave the money back to his mother, and she said, to keep the curse from falling on my son, I myself am solemnly dedicating the silver to YAHWEH. It will be used to make a WOODEN IDOL covered with silver. So now I will give the pieces of silver back to you. Then he gave them back to his mother. She took two hundred of the pieces of silver and gave them to a metalworker, who made an IDOL, carving it from wood and covering it with the silver. It was placed in Micah’s house. This man Micah had his own place of worship. He made some IDOLS [teraphim] and an EPHOD, and appointed one of his sons as his priest…At that same time there was a young Levite who had been living in the town of Bethlehem in Judah. He left Bethlehem to find another place to live. While he was travelling, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. Micah asked him, where do you come from? He answered, I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a place to live. Micah said, stay with me. Be my adviser and priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, some clothes, and your food. The young Levite agreed to stay with Micah and became like a son to him. Micah appointed him as his priest, and he lived in Micah’s home. Micah said, now that I have a Levite as my priest, I know that YAHWEH will make things go well for me.”

Micah and his mother were worshippers of YAHWEH. So was also this young Levite. But they also used “teraphim” in their worship and an “ephod” - that is, an image or figurine of Yahweh. Then in chapter 18 we are told how the tribe of Dan took these “teraphim” from Micah’s house and how they also took the young priest with them. They set up these “teraphim” in the city of Laish. This young Levite was actually a grandson of Moses:

“The Danites set up the IDOL to be worshipped, and Jonathan, the son of Gershon and grandson of Moses, served as a priest for the Danites, and his descendants served as their priests until the people were taken away into exile. Micah’s IDOL remained there as long as the Tent where God was worshipped remained at Shiloh” Judges 18:30-31].

The “teraphim” or the household Gods played a role in everyday worship of those who worshipped and served Yahweh. The “ephod” - the figurine or image of Yahweh also played a great role even in the life of David. There was such an image in the Sanctuary at Nob. Goliath’s sword, wrapped in a cloth, was placed behind it. When King Saul butchered the priests at Nob, Abiathar managed to escape. He took this image of Yahweh with him and joined David and his men who were on the run from King Saul. Whenever David needed an advise he consulted the “ephod” - the figurine of Yahweh. 1 Samuel 23:9-13 says:

“When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, bring the EPHOD. David said, O Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come, as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, tell your servant. And Yahweh said, He will. Again David asked, will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul? And Yahweh said, they will. So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place.”On another occasion David consulted this figurine of Yahweh. 1 Samuel 30:7-8 says:“Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, bring me the EPHOD. Abiathar brought IT to him, and David enquired of Yahweh, shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them? Pursue them, he answered. You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

That these images and idols were actually consulted is plain from the text in Zechariah 10:2 which says:

“For the IDOLS have spoken vanity”[KJV].

In the Centre Reference of the King James Bible we are told that the word “idols” is translated from the Hebrew word “teraphim.” The New American Bible reads:

“For the TERAPHIM speak nonsense.”

The New American Standard Bible reads:

“For the TERAPHIM speak iniquity.”

The Rotherham Emphasized Bible reads:

“For the HOUSEHOLD GODS have spoken vanity.”

In the footnote of The New American Bible, word “teraphim” we read:

“household idols, used for divination.”

Consulting “ephods” and “teraphim” was akin to a Chaldean practice. In Ezekiel 21:26 we read:

“For at the fork where two roads divide stands the king of Babylon, divining, he has shaken the arrows, INQUIRED OF THE TERAPHIM, inspected the liver.”

A similar “ephod” or an image of Yahweh that David used was also made by Gideon. Gideon was a stern worshipper of Yahweh. When the people proposed that either he or one of his sons rule as king over them he replied that only Yahweh would be their ruler. Then he took gold from the people and made an “ephod” - the image of Yahweh - and set it to be worshipped [Judges 8:24-27]. The later redactor inserted a gloss condemning this act of Gideon claiming that it became a snare to his house. The same redactor also condemned Solomon for worshipping at the High Place in Gibeon where the Tent Moses made stood, even though it was at this very shrine that Yahweh actually appeared to Solomon and conversed with him. Ephods and teraphim were used in the worship of Yahweh across the land of Judah. Josiah removed them from the Jewish households after the forged Book of the Law was discovered in the temple. But David did not only use an “ephod” in order to get his answers when needed. David also had “teraphim” - the household Gods in his own home. Easton’s Bible Dictionary, art. Teraphim, says:

“givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal his wife prepared one of the household TERAPHIM, putting on it the goat’s hair cap worn by sleepers and invalids, and laid it in bed, covering it with a mantle. She pointed it out to the soldiers, and alleged that David was confined to his bed by a sudden illness [1 Samuel 19:13-16]. Thus she gained time for David’s escape. It seems strange to read of the TERAPHIM, images of ancestors, preserved for superstitious purposes, BEING IN THE HOUSE OF DAVID.”

It is thus preposterous to say that David was after “God’s own heart” as falsely written by the Jewish redactors.David did not only have “teraphim” in his own house but in some way he was connected with the cult of Baal. Before I demonstrate this I want to quote extensively from the Jewish Encyclopedia so that you may see what it has to say concerning “teraphim” that is, the household Gods of the Jews and the Israelites:

“TEREPHIM - plural word of unknown derivation used in the Old Testament to denote the primitive Semitic house-gods whole cult had been handed down to historical times from the earlier period of nomadic wanderings. The translation of the term “teraphim” by the Greek versions, as well as its use in the Scriptures, gives an excellent idea of the nature of these symbols. Thus Aquila renders the word by “figures”; the Septuagint in Genesis by “images,” in Ezekiel by “carved images,” in Zechariah by “oracles,” and in Hosea by “manifest objects.” The Authorized Version often simply transcribes the word, as in Judges 17:5, 18:14, and Hosea 3:4, but frequently translates it “images,” as in Genesis 31:19. The rendering “images” occurs in 1 Samuel 19:13 also, “idols” in Zehariah 10:2, and “idolatry” in 1 Samuel 15:23…That teraphim were REALLY IMAGES OF HUMAN SHAPE and of considerable size is plainly seen from 1 Samuel 19:13, where Michal, the daughter of Saul, places one in David’s bed in order to conceal his escape from her enraged father. It is furthermore evident that they were not too large to be easily portable, inasmuch as Genesis 31:19 mentions that Rachel, without her husband’s knowledge, stole the teraphim which belonged to her father, Laban, and, when she wished to conceal them, placed them among the camel’s furniture and sat upon them [Gen. 30:34]. The nature of the teraphim cult and its gradual decay seem also perfectly clear. It may be noted that TERAPHIM WERE REGARDED IN EARLY TIMES AS REPRESENTATIVES OF REAL GODS ENDOWED WITH DIVINE ATTRIBUTES [comp. Gen 31:30, where Laban, rebu-king Jacob for Rachel’s theft of the teraphim, asks, “wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?”], and that evidently the teraphim cult was PRACTICALLY ON THE PLANE WITH YHWH WORSHIP. In Judges 17:5 Micah has “an house of gods” with a duly appointed priest; he makes an ephod [see below] and teraphim, which were used together with a “graven image” and a “molten image” made from silver dedicated to Yhwh; THE FIGURES WERE EVIDENTLY YHWH IMAGES.The value of the teraphim to the family and the tribe is shown by the statements that Rachel stole them from her father [Gen. 31:19], and that the Danites, when they went to spy out the land of Laish, took away by force from the house of Micah not only the YHWH IMAGES JUST MENTIONED, but also the EPHOD, THE TERAPHIM, AND THE LEVITICAL PRIEST [see Judges 18]. In the early times teraphim-worship WAS UNDOUBTEDLY TOLERATED BY THE YHWH RELIGION, as may be seen, for example, from 1 Samuel 19:13 [the story of Michal, the daughter of Saul], where it is tacitly implied THAT A TERAPHIM WAS A USUAL PIECE OF FURNITURE IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE LOYAL FOLLOWER OF YHWH.

In Hosea 3:4 and in Genesis 31:19, also, teraphim are alluded to without comment…It is certain, however, that teraphim soon became an object of distinct condemnation in the Yhwh cult. In Genesis 35:2 Jacob orders that the “strange gods” by which teraphim images were probably meant, be put away by his household and buried. The spot which was thus defiled was made a holy place by Joshua [Joshua 14:20-26]. Furthermore, in 1 Samuel 15:23 Samuel in his rebuke to Saul is made to classify teraphim with iniquity and rebellion. Josiah, the reforming king, did away with the magicians and wizards as well as with the teraphim and idols, all of which are grouped together as “abominations” [2 Kings 13:24]. With these passages should also be compared Zechariah 10:2 [R.V. “for the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams.” It will appear from the above quotations that the most important function of the teraphim, at any rate after the spread of the Yhwh cult over Israel, WAS THAT OF DIVINATION. EVIDENTLY THE IMAGES WERE USED CHIEFLY FOR ORACULAR PURPOSES, although nothing is known of the method of their consultation…The mention of an EPHODin connection with TERAPHIM [Judges 17:5, 18:20] is a peculiar use of that word, which in these passages represents merely “a portable object employed or manipulated by the priest in consultation with the oracle” [comp. Moore, “Judges,” p. 379, and see Judges 8:27, which clearly describes an EPHOD AS AN OBJECT EMPLOYED IN DIVINATION]. The use of the word seems to be quite distinct from that in the so-called P document [Exodus 28:6], where a high-priestly garment of the same name is referred to [see Ephod]. Such oracles were probably consulted down to a quite late date [comp. Hosea 3:4, Hebr: “for the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without a pillar, and without an ephod, and without teraphim”]. The passage 2 Kings 23:24, cited above, makes it evident that TERAPHIM HAD SURVIVED IN LATER JUDAH. The mention of teraphim in Zechariah 10:2 may have been due to an archaizing tendency of the author of this section, and would not in itself be sufficient evidence to prove that teraphim cult had continued into the Greek period; if, however, this passage is taken in conjunction with the statement of JOSEPHUS [“Ant.” 18:9-5] that the custom of carrying house-gods on journeys into strange countries prevailed in his time in the Mesopotamian regions, it appears highly likely that the use of teraphim continued into the first Christian century and possibly even later.

It would seem, then, as remarked above, that teraphim, like the Roman Lares and Penates, ORIGINALLY REPRESENTED HOUSE-GODS, WHICH WERE CARRIED ABOUT BY THE PRIMITIVE SEMITIC NOMADS AS FETISHES ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILY EFFECTS, AND THAT THESE DEITIES WERE IN ALL PROBABILITY WORSHIPPED AT FIRST AS THE MOST IMPORTANT DIVINE OBJECTS KNOWN TO THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS CULT. Although nothing whatever is known about the origin of the teraphim cult, it may have been a survival of primitive ancestor worship: ie., the images may have originally represented the deified ancestors of the family which revered them, and may have become later a sort of Manes oracle. They were probably not astral personifications. The cult could not have regarded as indigenous among the Israelites, because the deities are characterized as “gods of the stranger” [A.V. “strange gods”] in Genesis 34:4. In Ezekiel 21:26 [A.V. 21] it is recorded that the King of Babylon consulted teraphim, and “looked in the liver”; ie., he made use of magical incantations as well as of the astrological rites common in Babylonia. It is not at all unlikely that the Israelites obtained the teraphim cult from their Aramean kinsmen.”

The Jewish Targum of pseudo Jonathan actually explains that teraphim were in fact mummified heads of the first-born who were slain in sacrifice. The Jewish Encyclopedia says:

“According to Targum pseudo-Jonathan to Genesis 31:19, the teraphim were made of the head of a man, a first-born, which, after the man had been slain, was shaved and then salted and spiced. After a golden plate on which magic words were engraved had been placed under the tongue, the mummified head was mounted on the wall, and it spoke to the people.”

Whatever the origin of the teraphim and whatever its shape was - one thing is absolutely certain. The Jewish Bible clearly depicts the ancient Israelites and Jews as those who possessed teraphim and ephod and who also worshipped and consulted them. David himself had them and often consulted an EPHOD - which he believed was actually an IMAGE or FIGURINE OF YAHWEH. Micah who was a zealous worshipper of Yahweh and whose priest was from the tribe of Levi also used and worshipped TERAPHIM and an EPHOD. All these images, idols and figurines of Yahweh and the Gods played an important role in the lives and religious practices of ancient Israelites and the Jews.

Naming Children After Baal

It was a common practice among the pagans to name their children after Gods and Goddesses that they worshipped. Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar - after the name of Bel that is, Baal [Daniel 4:8]. One can understand that the apostate Jews and the Israelites named their children after Baal. But there is a problem when David who was supposedly a zealous worshipper of Yahweh and who served no other God names his children after Baal. It is also a problem when King Saul who was also a stern worshipper of Yahweh names his children after Baal. Let us first take a look at King Saul. His father’s brother was named Baal [1 Chronicles 8:30]. One of King Saul’s son was named ISHBAAL [man of Baal]. 1 Chronicles 8:33 and 9:39 preserve this name in its original form. But this name was later changed by the Jewish redactors to ISHBOSHETH. They have replaced the name Baal with the Hebrew word “bosheth” which means “shame.” This change is evident from 2 Samuel 2:8; 3:7; and 4:5 where the name is given as ISHBOSHETH instead of ISHBAAL. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, art. Ishbosheth, on p. 904, says:

“The original form of the name seems to have been Ishbaal, but because of the reluctance of the post-seventh-century B.C. Hebrews to use the name Baal, the form Ishbosheth was substituted.”

One of the grandsons of King of Saul, the actual son of Jonathan, was originally called MERIB BAAL [1 Chronicles 8:34; 9:40]. This name was later changed to MEPHIBOSHETH - as is evident from 2 Samuel 4:4 and 9:6. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, art. Mephibosheth, on p. 320, says:

“In the Chronicler’s genealogy [2Chr. 8:34; 9:40] he is called Merib baal; no doubt the name ‘boshet,’ “shame,” was a later substitution for the false god.”

One of King David’s sons was originally called BEELIADA a variant spelling of BAALIADA [1 Chronicles 14:7]. For one reason or another, David compounded the name of his son with the name of the God Baal. The later Jewish redactors and editors found this name offensive and idolatrous so they changed it to ELIADA [2 Samuel 5:16 and 1 Chronicles 3:8]. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, art. Beeliada, on p. 447, says:

“The name of a son of David born in Jerusalem, but CHANGED to Eliada in ORDER TO REMOVE THE ELEMENT OF BAAL FROM THE NAME.”

“A son of David, born at Jerusalem. The name was CHANGED to Eliada when the name Baal became distasteful because of its association with idolatry.”

The later Jewish redactors tampered with their Bible and removed the name of Baal from these names. But this does not change the fact that originally King Saul and King David named their children after the God Baal. It could well be that to them Baal and Yahweh were one and the same God. When David fought a battle and defeated his foes he named that place with the name of BAAL although he credited Yahweh with this victory. Please note the text of 2 Samuel 5:20 as is translated in The Interlinear Bible, by J.P. Green:

“And David came to Baal perazim. And David struck them there, and said, JEHOVAH has broken forth on my enemies before me, as the breaking forth of waters. On account of this he called the name of that place THE BREAKING OF BAAL.”

Here Baal is synonym for Yahweh. Sometimes the names Baal, El, and Yahweh were so closely associated together that it is impossible to distinguish them. The God worshipped after the death of Gideon was named Baal Berith - Lord of the Covenant [Judges 8:33]. The same God is called El Berith - God of the Covenant [Judges 9:46]. One of David’s warriors, a Benjamite, was named BEALIAH - in the King James Bible [1 Chronicles 12:5]. His real Hebrew name was actually BAAL YAH - which means YAHWEH IS BAAL. In the Greek Septuagint his name is given as BAALIAH. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia Of The Bible, Vol. 1, art. Bealiah, on p. 494, says that the name actually means YAHWEH IS LORD. But when you reverse the title Lord back to Hebrew the result is BAAL. In Hosea 2:16 the transliterated word “Baali” appears in the King James Bible. In the Centre Reference we are told that “Baali” actually means “my lord.” When King Saul and King David compounded the names of their sons with the God Baal they only did what almost half of other Jews and Israelites did. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia Of The Bible, Vol. 1, art. Baal, on p. 433, says:

“The Samaria obstraca, dating from c. 780 B.C., shows that this tendency [naming children after Baal] was particularly prominent in the northern kingdom; for every two names in lists compounded with the name Yahweh, one was formed with Baal.”

The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion, Vol. F-N, on p. 1343, says:

“The Samaria ostraca yield almost as many names composed with BAAL as with Yahweh.”

Even a certain Reubenite prince was named after Baal. His name was actually Baal [1 Chronicles 5:5]. After settling across the Jordan, the Reubenites built a city and called it Baal Meon [Numbers 32:38]. Later the name Baal was dropped and it wascalled Beth Meon [Jeremiah 48:23]. In Numbers 32:3 it is referred to as Beon. There was also an important town in Judah called Baale Judah which means Lords of Judah. The Ark of the Covenant was there before David brought it to Jerusalem [2 Samuel 6:2]. The original name of the city was Kiriath Jearim.

Phallic Images, Symbols And Sex Worship In The Christian

Church

Obelisks and pillars were erected at the entrances of the ancient shrines and temples. We have also seen that the same was placed at the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. The cross was also very significant symbol in the ancient religious world. But there was also another symbol which the ancients displayed at their shrines. It was the symbol of the sun. We know that the ancients actually worshipped the sun as giver of life. On the ancient temples and shrines the sun images were displayed above the entrances and also above the altars. In 1854 an ancient temple of Egypt was discovered. The insription revealed little round cakes [eucharist wafers] on the altar and above the altar there was a LARGE IMAGE OF THE SUN. In the upper Egypt, near the town of Babain, a similar SUN SYMBOL was discovered above the altar in the temple. The sun image above the altar was also used and worshipped in Peru. All these ancient phallic symbols can be detected at St. Peter’s in Vatican. The great obelisk is erected at the very entry of the cathedral and the cross is displayed at the pinnacle of this obelisk.

The interior of St. Peter’s clearly depicts sun images high above the most important altar of Catholicism, as those used by the pagan worshippers and the kings of Judah in the Jerusalem Temple. A large sun image also appears above the altar in the Church of Gesu, Rome. The great temple in Babylon also featured a golden sun image exhibited for the worship of the Babylonians. In many Christian churches a circular sun image is a stained glass window above the altar. More commonly this is placed above the entry of the church. In Babylon the sun images were likewise placed facing east - above the entries. An early Babylonian temple built by King Gudea featured such an emblem of the sun god over the entrance. It was the custom of the Egyptian builders to place a solar disc over the entrances of the temples and shrines - to honour the sun God and drive away the evil spirits. The circular window that has been so commonly used above the entrances of the Christian churches and cathedrals is sometimes called a wheel window. The wheel design, as the wheel of a chariot, was believed by the ancients to also be a sun symbol.

They thought of the sun as a great chariot driven by the sun God who made his trip across the heavens each day and passed through the underworld at night. The Jewish kings also placed chariots and horses in the Jerusalem Temple in honour of the sun [2 Kings 23:11]. Chariot wheel - a symbol of the sun - is placed on the statue of St. Peter’s. A tablet which was discovered by the archaeologists and is now in British museum, reveals the Babylonian king restoring a symbol of the sun God in the temple of Baal. The symbol is an eight pointed cross, like a spooked wheel. An identical symbol marks the pavement of the circular court before St. Peter’s. The Jews themselves worshipped the sun [Ezekiel 8:16]. The Jewish kings erected sun images in the temple above the altar [2 Chronicles 34:3-4]. See the Centre Reference of the King James Bible for clarification of the Hebrew word used. On the Christian churches all these phallic images are displayed. Churches are the holy places of worship just like high places [bamoth] were in Canaan and ancient Israel. Since the churches follow in the footsteps of their mother Catholic Church - Great Harlot of Revelation and the preserver of the Babylon Mystery Religion - it is only appropriate that these phallic symbols should be displayed in full view of the worshippers. Encyclopedia of Man, Myth and Magic, art. Phallic Symbolism, on pp. 2175-2176, tells us that a great deal of sexual symbolism has been ascribed to architecture and in particular to religious buildings:

“A great deal of sexual symbolism has been ascribed to architecture, in particular to RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS, and PHALLIC ORIGINS have been traced IN THE CULUMNS AND CAPITALS, THE ROUND TOWERS, THE SPIRES AND MINERETS, while the female organs have been seen as the basis of the ARCH and the KEYSTONE…Besides these symbolizations, there are other details that are QUITE PLAINLY SEXUAL IN CHARACTER. In Ireland until comparatively recently there were CARVINGS OF FEMALES WITH VERY EXAGGERATED SEXUAL ORGANS CALLED SHEILA-NA-GIG, and these FREQUENTLY formed the keystone of the arches on CHURCH DOORS. Most of them were removed in the 19th century, and some have been PLACED IN MUSEUMS. Such figures are also known to have existed IN VARIOUS ENGLISH CHURCHES.”

In some southern French towns, wax models of MALE ORGANS were hung on church rafters. Amongst the holy relics in the sacristy of some French churches were kept the phalluses of some holy saints. It is said that their tips were red with the libations of wine which pious women who could not have children poured on them. Elsewhere, ancient phallic idols had been turned into Christian saints, and had become objects of intense veneration. In Italy wax phallic images were, on the saint’s great feast day, sold to women by the thousand and presented by them, unblushing, to the priests. Scores of churches in Ireland had the image of a woman with exposed parts carved on the door for every woman and child to see. There are many phallic stones still in existence in many parts of England. These phallic stones can still be seen in the backyards of some Christian churches. On Trendle Hill, a gigantic nude figure cut in the turf, one hundred and eighty feet long, with monstrous phallus still remains for tourists to see. The May-Pole was once so popular among English Christians and yet it was a phallic symbol and a survival of ancient Roman phallic cult. When the Puritans temporarily banned the May Pole dances many Christians were infuriated. When the ban was lifted in 1660 the Christians were filled with ecstasy and they continued their phallic rites unabated for a long time.

Christian churches in the south of France had bunches of phalli hanging like candles from the roof. SEX CAKES WERE SOLD AND EXCHANGED AS FREELY AS IN ANCIENT GREECE. Barren women used to go out to the ancient [Neolithic] standing stones and rub against them, though any upright stone would do, and in places the statues of the saints were found more convenient. St. Foutin was the patron saint for phallic rites and sex worship in the Roman Church. Barren women would visit his statue and rub themselves against his enormous phallus in hope to be able to conceive and bear children. Others poured wine offerings on his gigantic phallus in hope to be cured from venereal diseases. Some women even scraped small fragments of St. Foutin’s phallus and drank it in hope to lift their barrenness. In Finland many Christian women used to scatter their breast-milk over the burrow before the crops are sown. In Germany only women were allowed to sow grain. In Hungary, to this day, girls are sprinkled with water on Easter Monday; in exchange they give the young men Easter eggs, cookies with nuts and flowers, all ancient fertility symbols - as pointed out by the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion, Vol. F-N, pp. 1342-1343.And what shall we say of the phallic rites of Vatican itself and the Popes of the Romish Church? Volumes would be needed to describe every illicit act committed by the priests, cardinals, nuns and the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.

But in brief I would like to document the monstrous and illicit sexual activities in which the Romish Popes indulged. Pope Sergius III [904-911] obtained the office of the Papacy by murder. The records of the Catholic Church tell about his life of open sin with Marozia who bore him several children. The Cardinal Baronius described the Pope Sergius III as a monster while Gregorovius called him a terrorising criminal. The grandson of Marozia when merely eighteen years of age succeeded in taking possession of the pontifical throne under the name of John XII. In a book The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional, Chiniqay, the former Catholic priest writes on p. 138:

“In the year 936, the grandson of the prostitute Marozia, after several bloody encounters with his opponents, succeeded in taking possession of the pontifical throne under the name of John XII. But his vices and scandals became so intolerable, that the learned and celebrated Roman Catholic Bishop of Cremorne, Luiprand, says of him: ‘No honest lady dared to show herself in public, for the Pope John had no respect either for single girls, married women, or widows - they were sure to be defiled by him, even on the tombs of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul’. That same John XII, was instantly killed by a gentleman, who found him committing the act of adultery with his wife.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 8, on p. 427, art. John XII, states:

“...a coarse, immoral man, whose life was such that Lateran was spoken of as a brothel, and the moral corruption in Rome became the subject of general odium...On 6 November a synod composed of fifty Italian and German bishops was convened in St. Peter’s; John was accused of sacrilege, simony, perjury, adultery, and incest, and was summoned in writing to defend himself. Refusing to recognize the synod, John pronounced sentence of excommunication against all participators in the assembly, should they elect in his stead another Pope...John XII took bloody vengeance on the leaders of the opposite party, Cardinal-Deacon John had his right hand struck off, Bishop Otgar of Speyer was scourged, a high Palatine official lost nose and ears.”

The Catholic collection of the lives of Popes, the Liber Pontificalis states:“He spent his entire life in adultery” [Liber Pontificalis, Vol. 2, p. 246}.The Pope Benedict IX, [1033-1045] was made Pope when merely twelve years of age. Halley, in his Halley’s Bible Handbook, on p. 775, writes:

“He committed murders and adulteries in broad daylight, robbed pilgrims on the graves of the martyrs, a hideous criminal, the people drove him out of Rome.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia states:

“He was a disgrace to the Chair of Peter.”

The Pope Boniface VIII, is described by the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, on pp. 668-669, art. Boniface VIII, in the following manner:

“Scarcely and possible crime was omitted - infidelity, heresy, simony, gross and unnatural immorality, idolatry, magic...historians, generally, and even modern Catholic writers class him among the wicked Popes, as an ambitious, haughty, and unrelenting man, deceitful and also treacherous, his whole pontificate one record of evil.”

During the reign of Boniface VIII, the poet Dante visited Rome and described the Vatican as a sewer of corruption. The Catholic historians admit that Boniface VIII, spoke offensive phraseology, even marking it on the public documents. Boniface VIII, made a statement:

“to enjoy oneself and to lie carnally with women or with boys is no more a sin than rubbing one’s hands together” [History of the Church Councils, Book 40, art. 697].

This monster was the one who issued the well known unam sanctum - officially declaring that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true Church, outside of which there is no salvation. Chiniqay writes the following regarding the Pope John XXIII [1410-1415]:

“John XXIII, having appeared before the Council to give an account of his conduct, he was proved by thirty-seven witnesses, the greater part of whom were bishops and priests, of having been guilty of fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, simony, theft, and murder. It was proved also by a legion of witnesses, that he had seduced and violated 300 nuns. His own secretary, Niem, said that he had at Boulogne, kept a harem, where not less than 200 girls had been victims of his lubricity” [The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional, p. 139].

The Vatican record offers this information about his immoral reign:

“His lordship, Pope John committed perversity with the wife of his brother, intercourse with virgins, adultery with the married, and all sorts of sex crimes...wholly given to sleep and other carnal desires, totally adverse to the life and teaching of Christ...he was publicly called the Devil Incarnate” [Conciliorum, Vol. 27, p. 663].

The Pope Alexander VI, is looked as the most corrupt of the Renaissance Popes. He lived in public incest with his two sisters and his own daughter Lucretia, from whom he had a child. In October, 1501 c.e. he conducted a sex orgy in the Vatican, the equal of which for sheer horror has never been duplicated in the annals of human history [Diarium, Vol. 3, p. 167].The Protestant reformer Martin Luther, while still a Catholic priest went to visit Rome. As he caught the glimpse of the seven-hilled city, he fell to the ground and said:“Holy Rome, I salute thee.”He had not spent much time there, however, until he saw that Rome was anything but a sacred city. Iniquity existed among all classes of clergy. Priests told indecent jokes and used awful profanity, even during Mass. The Papal court was served at supper by twelve naked girls [Durant, The Story of Civilization; The Reformation, p. 344].Pope Gregory XVI, [1831-1846] had several mistresses, one of whom was the wife of his barber. He was one of the greatest drunkards in Italy!Pope Pius IX, [1846-1878] had several mistresses. Two daughters were born to him from two of his mistresses.

Even in this day and age - Vatican is filled with illicit sexual acts and the little coffins in which the innocent babies are placed before burial - the result of unwanted pregnancies by the nuns. The Catholic padres all over the world molest boys and girls and get away with it. Even when discovered the greatest punishment they receive is the transfer to another parish - where they continue to do the same thing.We have seen previously that Bacchus, Dionysus, Tammuz... were gods of fertility and orgiastic orgies. Their priests and priestesses practiced gross sexual immorality in the temple rites. When we realise that the Pope is the legitimate successor of Bacchus, and his cardinals and padres the successors of the priests of Bacchus - is it any wonder then that they practice such gross immoral acts!Chiniqay states:

“However, nobody can be surprised that the priests, the bishops, and the popes of Rome are sunk into such a bottomless abyss of infamy, when we remember that they are nothing else than the successors of the priests of Bacchus and Jupiter. For not only have they inherited their powers, but they have even kept their very robes and mantles on their shoulders, and their caps on their heads. Like the priests of Bacchus, the priests of the Pope are bound never to marry, by the impious and godless laws of celibacy. For every one knows that the priests of Bacchus were, as the priests of Rome, celibates. But, like the priests of the Pope, the priests of Bacchus, to console themselves for the restraints of celibacy, had invented auricular confession. Through the secret confidences of the confessional, the priests of the old idols, as well as those of the newly invented wafer gods, knew who were strong and weak among their fair penitents, and under the veil ‘of the sacred mysteries’, during the night celebration of their diabolical mysteries, they knew to whom they should address themselves, and make their vows of celibacy an easy yoke. Let those who want more information on that subject read poems of Juvenal, Propertius, and Tibellus. Let them persue all the historians of old Rome, and they will see the perfect resemblance which exists between the priests of the Pope and those of Bacchus, in reference to the vows of celibacy, the secrets of auricular confession, celebration of the so called ‘sacred mysteries’, and the unmentionable moral corruption of the two systems of religion. In fact, when one reads the poems of Juvenal, he thinks he has before him the books of Den, Liguori, Lebreyne, Kenrick” [The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional, p. 140].

Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar. The very name EASTER instantly proves that this festival has nothing to do with Yahshua Messiah. The name of this most important Christian festival is etymologically linked to the name of the Anglo-Saxon Goddess EASTRE. Collier’s Dictionary, Vol. 1, on p. 320, clearly shows that the word Easter is derived from Eastre - the name of the pagan goddess:

“Old English eastre this feast, from Eastre the Teutonic goddess of the dawn whose rites were also celebrated in the spring.”Compton’s Encyclopedia, 1956, Vol. 4, Art. Easter, says:“our name ‘Easter’ comes from “EOSTRE’, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally ofthe dawn.”Reader’s Digest Library of Essential Knowledge, Vol. 2, on p. 743, gives us the following information:“The name Easter is said to be derived from Eostre, the northern goddess of the spring, who, according to the monastic chronicler Bede, was worshipped by the pagan Anglo-Saxons.”The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary on p. 329, corroborates the fact that the name Easter is derived from the pagan Goddess Eastre:“The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honor sacrifices were offered…By the eighth century Anglo-Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.”

The GoddessEASTRE or EOSTRE was known as ISHTAR in ancient Assyria and Babylonia. The Germanic tribes called her OSTERN - as Teutonic mythology clearly reveals. Ostern in German means east - and therefore dawn and rising of the sun. Phoenicians called her ASTARTE. Alexander Hislop in his classical work Two Babylons, makes the following remark:

“Easter bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than ASTARTE, one of the titles of Beltis, the QUEEN OF HEAVEN, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is ISHTAR” [Two Babylons, p. 103. See also: Nineveh and Babylon, Vol. 2, p. 629, by Austin Layard].

The Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Symbols, Part 1, on p. 487, gives us the following important information:

“The name [Easter] is related to ASTARTE, ASTORETH, EOSTRE and ISHTAR, goddess who visited and rose from the underworld.”

The Interpreter’s Dictionary, Vol. 3, on p. 975, tells us that ISHTAR was the Goddess of love and fertility who was called Mistress of Heaven. It also tells us that she was worshipped in Palestine as QUEEN OF HEAVEN under the name of ASHTORETH. Unger’s Bible Dictionary, on p. 412, tells us that ASHTORETH is ASTARTE and a Canaanite Goddess. It tells us that ASHTORETH was actually ISHTAR of Babylon, the Goddess of sensual love, maternity and fertility. On p. 413, Unger’s Dictionary tells us that ASTARTE is the Greek name for ASHTORETH. Collier’s Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, on p. 97, tells us the following of Astarte:

“ASTARTE, the Phoenician goddess of fertility and erotic love. The Greek name “Astarte,” was derived from Semitic, “Ishtar,” “Ashtoreth”…among the Canaanites, Astarte, like her peer Anath, performed a major function as goddess of fertility…she is represented on plaques [dated 1700-1100 B.C.] as naked, in striking contrast to the modestly garbed Egyptian goddesses."

“The ISHTAR FESTIVALS were symbolical of ISHTAR as the goddess of love, or generation. As the daughter of Sin, the moon god, she was the MOTHER GODDESS who presided over child birth, and women, in her honor, sacrificed their virginity on the feast day or became temple prostitutes, their earnings being a source of revenue for the temple priests and servants.”

So far we have established the fact that the name Easter is derived from the name of the pagan Goddess. We have also clearly seen that this pagan goddess EASTER-EASTRE-EOSTRE-ASTARTE, ASHTORETH-ISHTAR was the Goddess of fertility, erotic love and temple prostitution. That rites and symbols of Easter as now observed by Christians worldwide has nothing to do with Yahshua Messiah and his death and resurrection, but rather they are closely connected with ISHTAR - the Queen of Heaven who was passionately worshipped in antiquity - will now be plainly demonstrated. There are several symbols which are closely connected with the Christian festival of Easter. The rabbit [hare] and coloured Easter eggs are very prominent.Children roll Easter eggs and they also hunt for hidden coloured Easter eggs. Rolling of eggs annually take place at Easter on the lawn of the White House in the United States. That Easter is really pagan and has nothing to do with Yahshua Messiah is affirmed very clearly in both ecclesiastical and secular textbooks. These same authoritative sources plainly admit that all Easter symbols and rites were directly borrowed from the festival originally observed by pagans in honour of the Goddess of fertility and sex called EASTRE-EOSTRE-ASTARTE-ASHTORETH-ISHTAR. Please note the following admission plainly written in Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, on p. 317:

“Easter was originally a pagan festival honouring EOSTRE, a Teutonic goddess of light and spring…As early as the eight century the name was used to designate the annual Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ.”

These Christian Bible scholars plainly admit that Easter is not a biblical practice nor was its observance ever implemented by Yahweh, Yahshua or the Twelve. They also clearly state that Easter was originally a PAGAN FESTIVAL honouring the Teutonic [Germanic] Goddess of spring called EOSTRE. It wasn’t until the 8th century that this pagan festival was finally “Christianised” and observed as CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL. Funk and Wagnalls Standard Reference Encyclopedia, Vol. 8, 1962, on p. 2940, gives us the following information:

“Although Easter is a Christian festival, it embodies traditions of an ancient time antedating the rise of Christianity.”

Please note that traditions and rites associated with Christian Easter were antedating the rise of Christianity. The word antedate means to be or occur earlier than; to precede in time. Since the rites and symbols of the Christian Easter were observed by pagans prior to the rise of Christianity - how plain then that they have nothing whatsoever to do with Yahshua or his twelve Apostles.Compton’s Encyclopedia, 1956, Vol. 4, Art.‘Easter’ says:

“Many Easter customs came from the Old World…colored eggs and rabbits have come from pagan antiquity as symbols of new life…Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre-Christian spring festivals.”

Easter eggs and rabbits are symbols of fertility, sex and sensual lust. Roman Catholics often picture Mary with a rabbit at her feet. This signifies that Mary [in their thought ever virgin] actually overpowered sensual lust. The Reader’s Digest Book of Facts, 1987, on p. 122, gives the following information about ‘Easter and the Bunny’:

“Children’s stories in many countries tell how Easter eggs are brought not by a chicken but by hares and rabbits. These long-eared hopping mammals have represented fertility in many cultures because they breed so quickly. In traditional Christian art the hare represents lust, and paintings sometimes show a hare at the Virgin Mary’s feet to signify her triumph over temptations of the flesh. Yet as a symbol of life reawakening in the spring-often portrayed as the innocent and cuddly Easter bunny-the rabbit coexists in many places with the solemn Christian rites of Easter.” The Encyclopedia Britannica, Art. ‘Easter’ says:“Like the Easter egg, the Easter HARE came to Christianity from antiquity. The HARE is associated with the moon in the legends of ancient Egypt and other peoples. Through the fact that the Egyptian word for ‘hare’, ‘UM’ means also ‘open’ and ‘period’. The HARE came to be associated with the idea of ‘periodicity’ both lunar and human, and with the beginning of new life in both the young man and young woman and so a symbol of fertility and the renewal of life.”

“Children roll pasch eggs in England. Everywhere they hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by Easter rabbit. This is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbolizing fertility. Furthermore, the rabbit was the escort of the Germanic goddess OSTARA who gave the name to the festival by way of the German Ostern.”

Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend, on p. 89, gives us the following information regarding the coloured eggs of Easter:

“The Easter egg, pagan symbol of rebirth, was given a Christian meaning when it became the practice to bring eggs, forbidden food during Lent, to be blessed in church on Easter Sunday.”

Albert Pike in his book Morals and Dogma, on p. 400, states:

“The world, and the spherical envelope that surrounds it, were represented by a MYSTIC EGG, by the side of the SUN-GOD whose mysteries were celebrated. The famous ORPHIC EGG was consecrated to Bacchus in his mysteries. It was, says Plutarch, an image of the universe which engenders everything, and contains everything in its bosom. ‘Consult’, says Macrobius, ‘the initiates of the mysteries of Bacchus, who honor with special veneration THE SACRED EGG’. The rounded and almost spherical form of its shell, he says, which encloses it on every side, and confines within itself the principles of life, is a symbolic image of the world; and the world is a universal principle of all things. The symbol was borrowed from Egyptians, who also CONSECRATED THE EGG TO OSIRIS, GERM OF LIGHT, himself born, says Diodorus, from that famous egg. In Thebbes, in upper Egypt, he was represented as emitting it from his mouth, and causing to issue from it the first principle of heat and light, or the fire god, Vulcan, or Phtha. We find this egg even in Japan, between the horns of the famous Mithraic bull, whose attributes Osiris, Apis, and Bacchus all borrowed. Orpheus, author of the Grecian mysteries, which he carried from Egypt to Greece, consecrated this symbol: and taught that matter, uncreated and informous, existed from all eternity, unorganized, as chaos; containing in itself the principles of all existences confused and intermingled, light with darkness, the dry with humid, heat with cold; from which, it after long ages taking the shape of an immense egg, issued the purest matter, or first substance, and the residue was divided into four elements, from which proceeded heaven and earth and all things else. This grand cosmogonic idea he taught in the mysteries; and thus the hierophant explained THE MEANING OF THE MYSTIC EGG, seen by the initiates in this sanctuary.”

To the initiates of the Mystery Religion an egg contained self inherent life. From this mystic egg all other life had evolved. This is the original teaching of evolution - existence apart from an intelligent Creator. Pike further states:

“The serpent entwined round an egg, was a symbol common to the Indians, the Egyptians, and the Druids. It referred to the creation of the universe. A serpent with an egg in his mouth was a symbol of the universe containing in itself the germ of all things that the sun develops. The property possessed by the serpent, of casting its skin, and apparently renewing its youth, made it an emblem of eternity and immortality” [p. 496].Reverend Alexander Hislop in his book Two Babylons, on p. 109, gives us the following information:“The ancient Druids bore an egg, as a sacred symbol of their order. In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, where doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came VENUS, that is, ASTARTE or EASTER; and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of VENUS or ASTARTE, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.”

Historical evidence plainly reveals that coloured eggs were used in pagan rites before the birth of Yahshua Messiah. Therefore it is evident that an egg has nothing to do with the death of Yahshua. Both the Easter egg and the Easter rabbit are symbols of fertility and sensual love and they were closely associated with the Goddess EASTRE, and ultimatelyISHTAR - the Queen of Heaven. When we realise that Easter eggs and Easter rabbit play a much greater significance than commonly supposed it becomes apparent then why Yahweh calls the Romish Church BABYLONIAN HARLOT and the Christian churches DAUGHTER HARLOTS. They all teach and believe essentially the same doctrines. And virtually all practice the same pagan and abominable phallicrites during the most important Christian festival. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909 edition, plainly admits that Easter rites are not ‘Christian’ but were incorporated from paganism. Please note:

“A great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring…The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been a symbol of fertility.”

Regrettably, neither Roman Catholics nor do Protestants take this statement very seriously. But virtually all indulge in these abominable rites pretending that they are celebrating a religious festival in honour of Yahshua Messiah when they are in actual fact celebrating sensuality and fertility of the ancient Goddess and her temple prostitutes. It is therefore preposterous to say that ancient Jews and Israelites served Yahweh alone. They worshipped Gods of the pagans and indulged in gross and depraved sexual rites as did the pagans themselves. It is equally preposterous to say that the Christian Church is the true and authentic organisation founded by Yahshua and the Twelve. The Christian Church was founded by Paul of Tarsus and later was re-organised by the Church Fathers. All today’s Christian denominations are in fact the daughters of the Catholic Church and are in fact protesting Catholics as their name ‘Protestant’ implies.